'Dongzhai Jishi' (東齋記事) is a historical and literary work compiled in six volumes by Fan Zhen (范鎮), also known as Jingren (景仁), a native of Huayang. Fan Zhen's biography is detailed in the Song History (宋史). According to his own preface, 'Dongzhai Jishi' was written during the Yuanfeng era (1078-1085) of the Song Dynasty (宋). The 'Song Yiwen Zhi' (宋藝文志) lists the work as twelve volumes, while the 'Wenxian Tongkao' (文獻通考) by Ma Duanlin records it as ten volumes. The original manuscript has been lost for a long time, making it difficult to determine the exact number of volumes.

The current version of 'Dongzhai Jishi' has been compiled from materials found in the 'Yongle Dadian' (永樂大典), organized into five volumes. Additional content has been extracted from Jiang Shaoyu's 'Shi Shi Lei Yuan' (事實類苑) and Zeng Zao's 'Leishuo' (類說), with duplicate entries removed and added to a supplementary volume. Although this version may not be a complete representation of Fan Zhen's original work, it contains a significant portion of the content, nearly half of what is recorded in the 'Song History' and the 'Tongzhi' (通志).

According to Wang Dechen in his 'Zhushi' (麈史), 'Dongzhai Jishi' was written during Fan Zhen's retirement, which explains the extensive coverage of events in Sichuan. Chao Gongwu in his 'Dushu Zhi' (讀書志) mentions that the work was banned during the Chongguan period (1102-1106) because it contained many references to the affairs of the early Song emperors. However, the book primarily records the good governance of the Song ancestors, without any derogatory remarks about the rulers or the moral teachings of the time. The ban was likely due to the work's implicit criticism of the Xining New Policies (熙寧新法), suggesting that Fan Zhen had a hidden agenda. As a result, Fan Zhen was included in the list of political opponents, and 'Dongzhai Jishi' was banned alongside the works of Simag Guang and Huang Tingjian.

After the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), the political bans were lifted, and 'Dongzhai Jishi' was once again in circulation. The book's prohibition was primarily due to Wang Anshi's influence and the opposition to his policies, rather than any genuine offense to the court.

In the existing text, there are several instances where the names of individuals, such as Zhang Hui, are annotated with alternative names (e.g., Zhang Lun) from different editions, indicating that there were multiple versions of the book in circulation at the time.

Fan Zhen and Sima Guang were close friends, but they had differing views on music, which is reflected in the debates recorded in 'Dongzhai Jishi'. Fan Zhen's discussions with Yin Ruan and Ruan Yi are particularly contentious, showing his strong adherence to his own beliefs. The book also includes some fantastical stories, such as the tale of Cai Xiang being a snake spirit, and the description of a three-eyed person from the Roomu (室韋) and a cow-hoofed person from the Tujue (突厥), which are considered implausible and more akin to folklore. Despite these elements, the overall content of 'Dongzhai Jishi' is more substantial and reliable than works like 'Biyun Za' (碧雲騢) and 'Dongxuan Biji' (東軒筆錄), and it is classified under the category of historical and literary works rather than novels.

References

• 《四庫全書總目提要·卷140 子部·小說家類一》

《東齋記事》，宋朝范鎮撰，共六卷。范鎮，字景仁，華陽（今四川成都）人，其生平事跡詳見《宋史》本傳。

此書原為范鎮在元豐年間所作，根據其自序所述。《宋藝文志》記載此書為十二卷，《文獻通考》則記載為十卷。由於舊本久已散佚，無法確定其卷數是否準確。現存版本是從《永樂大典》中採輯並重新編纂而成，共五卷。此外，江少虞的《事實類苑》和曾慥的《類說》中亦多有引用，現已刪除重複部分，補遺一卷。

《麈史》記載，《東齋記事》為范鎮退居時所作，因此書中記載了不少蜀地之事。晁公武的《讀書志》提到，因書中多涉及先朝故事，在崇觀年間曾被禁止傳播。然而，細讀此書可見，其內容多為歌頌宋代祖宗的美政，並無所謂誹謗君主、違背名教之言。只是所記諸事與熙寧新法多有牴牾，可能寓含深意。因此，范鎮被列入黨籍，此書亦與蘇軾、黃庭堅的文字同時被禁。直到南渡後，黨禁解除，此書才得以重新流傳。這主要是因為蔡京因王安石之故，不滿其異議，而非真的得罪朝廷。

現存版本中，如「張繪」一詞，注釋為「京版作張綸」等，有數處之多，可見當年刊本不一。范鎮與司馬光交情甚篤，唯在論樂方面意見不合，書中亦有相關爭論的記載。此外，范鎮對陰瑗、阮逸等人，詞氣尤其不平，顯示其始終堅持己見。書中亦有如蔡襄為蛇精、室韋人有三眼、突厥人有牛蹄等神怪內容，頗為不經，故《文獻通考》將其列為小說家。然而，總體而言，此書內容豐富，大綱清晰，非《碧雲騋》、《東軒筆錄》等書所能比擬。